Wednesday, August 31, 2016

What is writing? Carly Gillingham Journal Reflection #1

Writing is a way to put letters and words together (by means of numerous different platforms) in order to convey some sort of idea. This idea can take many different forms; writing can be a song, a poem, or a nursery rhyme, or it could be things like thesis projects, obituaries, and medical reports. One way or another, writing seeks to utilize words, and only words, to convey an idea or inform an audience of some sort; writing is composition of text using the letters of the alphabet and words of a certain language. All of this, however, is the boring, Webster dictionary type of definition for writing. Writing is much more than that for many people, and can do a number of things outside of simply conveying an idea. For us EWM majors, writing is something more journalistic - it is an art used to discuss in-depth topics of all different kinds. We write to inform and to open up the eyes of an audience. For creative writers, poets, songwriters, and novelists, writing is something more creative. It is their chosen medium for their art, and they use words to create entire alternate universes, and entirely new characters and concepts that may not exist in our world. It is used to entertain an audience and allow them an escape into a different kind of world, or to relate to their audience; many readers of novels or poetry find solace in this kind of writing because the emotions or story lines are relatable for them. For historians, writing tells a story; the earliest human writings are mankind’s only clue in the puzzle of early languages. Journal writings by historical figures have provided us with the history with which we are presently familiar. For others, writing is less artistically meaningful, but still important; it is through writing that we take and read notes, stay informed on current news events, record important information for later reference, and more.

Some key terms that define writing:
1.  Informative: The basic idea behind writing, as discussed, is that it informs an audience of some sort of idea/concept.
2. Individualistic: Every individual person has a different and unique style or take on writing.
3. Functional: Usually, there is some sort of function behind writing words, whether it is profound or simple.
4. Emblematic: Through history, writing has held different meaning and symbolism.
5. Cultural: Writing means different things, and is used differently, in different cultures and languages
6. Imaginative: A writer’s own personal creativity and imagination plays a great role in their writing.

No comments:

Post a Comment